Groundbreaking Ceremony – Memorial Day

Lots of work has been done with the formalizing of the memorial design and it is now time to break ground! 

The fundraising campaign for the Orange County Veterans Memorial is underway and seeks to raise $75,000 by the end of May. The official groundbreaking ceremony for the planned memorial will be held at the Southern Human Services campus (2501 Homestead Road in Chapel Hill) at 3 p.m. on Memorial Day (Monday, May 29). The Veterans Memorial will pay tribute to the thousands of men and women from Orange County who served or are serving in the U.S. armed forces. It will be funded by private donations with support and land donation from Orange County and additional support from the Town of Chapel Hill. 
“This memorial is a gift from the residents and friends of Orange County to the many veterans who served or are serving and have called Orange County home,” said Bruce Runberg, U.S. Navy (Retired) and Vietnam Veteran who is Co-Chair of the Veterans Memorial Fundraising Committee. “It is to remember all the men and women who served in our armed forces.”
“We want to remember those who protected our nation by creating a memorial that will honor their service and sacrifice,” said Jim Merritt, former Chapel Hill Town Councilman and Vietnam Veteran who co-chairs the committee with Runberg. “It’s a way for our community to say we are proud of the service these veterans provided.”

The memorial will include walking trails and exhibits honoring all branches of the military. Residents can donate to the memorial through the Orange County Community Giving Fund (ocncgiving.org). Checks may be sent to the address below. Please be sure to indicate the gift is for the Veterans Memorial.
Orange County Community Giving Fund
Financial Services
PO Box 8181
Hillsborough, NC 27278

Construction of the memorial, including the landscaping, will be fully paid for through donations.  You can make your donation by clicking on “Donations” in the taskbar above, or just CLICK HERE.

Veterans Day Breakfast and Veterans Memorial Site Dedication

Memorial Site miniVeterans Day 2016 starts at the Hillsborough Senior Center with a breakfast hosted by The Orange County Department on Aging.  Veterans are invited to a free breakfast hosted in their honor on Friday, Nov. 11, from 8:30 a.m. – 10:30 a.m.  Lieutenant Colonel (Ret.) Danny W. Hassell, U.S. Army, will be the guest speaker. The breakfast will take place at the Passmore Center, which is located at 103 Meadowlands Drive in Hillsborough.

Amedisys Home Health and Hospice, Orange County Department on Aging, and Orange County Department of Social Services are co-sponsoring the breakfast to show appreciation for veterans’ contribution and service to the United States.

To reserve seating, please call 919.245.2015 on or before Wednesday, Nov. 9.

After the breakfast, guests are invited to the Orange County Veterans Memorial Site Dedication. The ceremony will take place at 11 a.m. at the memorial site that is adjacent to Southern Human Services campus located at 2501 Homestead Road in Chapel Hill.

Transportation to and from the Veterans Memorial site dedication ceremony from the Passmore Center will be provided for the first 50 individuals to make reservations. The bus will leave from the Passmore Center at 10:30 a.m. and return around 1 p.m.  Parking is available at the memorial site.

For more information and to reserve transportation, please call 919.245.2015

County Commissioners Receive Progress Report

We are pleased to announce that we are making good headway on the Memorial.   The designers have modified the design for the new site at the Orange County Human Services site on Homestead Rd (at the Old Homesite just west of the Orange County Southern Human Services Center). The County Commissioners are to receive the Veterans Memorial Committee Progress Report from us on Tuesday, 20 September, 2016. THAT’S THIS TUESDAY!

The plan is to be at the Old Homesite at 6 pm to show the concept to the Commissioners and other interested people and also have a temporary flag at the actual site of the flagpole.  All committee members and donors are invited to be there to participate and discuss the project.

After the 6 pm site walkabout, the County Commissioners will prepare for their 7 pm monthly meeting.  The meeting will begin in the Human Services Bldg.

Committee co-chair Jim Merritt will say a few words and introduce the designers who will present the concept plan for information to the Commissioners. With their approval, we can start the formal fund raising, which we are prepared to do.

We invite area veterans, veterans groups, and other interested parties to attend the Orange County Commissioner’s meeting to show your support for this very important community project.

Memorial Fundraising

Our fundraising committee needs your help.

Our fundraising committee needs your help.

We are now at a point where we need to accelerate our fundraising.  We have a revised concept plan for the memorial that will be presented to the Orange County Commissioners in September.  Lots of work has been done and we are impressed with the vision presented.

What we need now is your help.  We have an immediate need to raise additional seed money for architectural planning.  How much?  $5,000 will help fund the design through this phase.  We’ll gladly accept a large donation for the full amount, but we know that we can also get there through small donations.

We have partnered with the Orange County Community Giving Fund to receive tax deductible donations from individuals, churches, clubs, businesses and corporations.

If you would like to help us fund the current design phase, visit our Donations  page and click on the green button.   It will take you to the fund’s donation portal.  You’ll go through a short registration process and then you can make a donation on line.

If you or your employer would like to help us, visit the donations page and look for information on corporate  donations.  Don’t forget corporate matching donations.  Ask your employer.

Remember, this memorial is a gift of the residents and friends of Orange County to the veterans who have served and have lived or live, work and play in Orange County.  You make it possible.

Let’s Make the Orange County Veterans Memorial a Reality

Aerial view CH Memorial monuments2High on a hill above the Seymour Center is a beautiful park-like setting. It is known as “the Homestead Site.” This location was selected as the future site of the Orange County Veterans Memorial.

Orange County has proudly supplied our men and women to serve their nation during times of war or conflict. Our first call to arms was in the fall of 1775, when the Orange County Militia was established on September 9, 1775. Our fledgling militia faced its first battle at Moore’s Creek Bridge near Wilmington in February 1776.

Now, more than 240 years later, the residents and friends of Orange County will recognize and honor their service with the Orange County Veterans Memorial.

The memorial site is flat and is at the crest of a hill across from the Southern Orange County Human Services Center on Homestead Road, Chapel Hill. Walking paths now exist from the Seymour Center. It is also easily accessible by car or by using Chapel Hill Transit. There is ample parking and it is wheelchair accessible.

Veterans groups from throughout the county have joined with the Veterans Memorial Committee to sponsor and raise money for the memorial. Orange County has joined with them to provide the site and support. Now we need you and your support.

We all know the importance of recognition for service. Our seniors often reflect on the service that they have provided to our towns, villages, county and country. We have not, however, joined together to build a significant memorial to honor our county veterans.

“My vision is to have the residents of our county design, build and fund a Veterans Memorial that we would be proud to say, ‘We did this ourselves. From our dimes to dollars grew this memorial to our veterans,’ ” said Lee Heavlin, Veterans Committee member and career navy man.

How can you help? You can donate today to the Veterans Memorial Fund. The memorial committee needs funds to continue design work and to prepare for the memorial. Ground breaking may be as soon as Veterans Day 2016, but donations and major pledges are needed now to make that possible.

Donating is as easy as visiting the memorial website and submitting your donation by credit card. All donations are accepted for the memorial by the Orange County Community Giving Fund and are tax deductible. Visit http://orangecountyveteransmemorial.com/donations to make a donation and to learn more.

You can also help by sharing the project with friends, civic groups and clubs, churches and schools as a community service fundraising project. Create the excitement that will make funding the project easier. The Veterans Committee can provide members to speak at your group. For assistance, contact Lee Heavlin, committee member and Fundraising Chair, at 919-260-6571.

Expected cost is about $500,000 for the memorial and memorial perpetual fund. Visit the memorial website for project history and more details.

To donate, visit the Orange County Community Giving Fund site, register and then select Veterans Memorial.  Yes, the Community Giving Fund is a 501(3)(c) organization.

 

We Heard You

Our local veterans’ memorial project slowed down late last year as we reevaluated our memorial’s location.  The placement of the memorial at the Chapel Hill Memorial Cemetery made sense in the beginning.  However, the cemetery is reaching capacity and development around the site is changing.

Our memorial has always been a memorial for all veterans.  That is why we chose the name Veterans Memorial at Chapel Hill.

This year brought us a new opportunity.  Veterans around Chapel Hill have asked the same question we did.  They wanted to know why there was no veterans  memorial for Orange County veterans.  Our memorial could have served that purpose, but the location was wrong.

We looked at options in and around Chapel Hill that would honor Chapel Hill and Orange County and we found it on land in Chapel Hill that is owned by Orange County.  The land is already established and serves the citizens of Southern Orange County well.  In fact, it is about to get a facelift, as the county realigns roads and prepares to expand existing infrastructure and water runoff zones.

We are excited and think you will be, too.  Our existing design fits well at the alternate site and can be adjusted to reflect the ideas of Orange County veterans, students, and families.

Watch the news for more information as we get closer to Memorial Day.  We’ll share with you our vision for the memorial and offer you an opportunity to help make it a reality.  Donations are accepted and you can start now!

donate-veterans

 

A Veterans Memorial in a Cemetery?

This story is historical and shares with you our project from its humble beginnings.  Since the story was published, the Orange County Commissioners approved the memorial as a county memorial and made available a beautiful and historic site that sits above the Seymour Center.  

Open space in Chapel Hill is at a premium.  We looked everywhere and considered many options.  The best option found was the Chapel Hill Memorial Cemetery.

Why?  Almost half of the graves are those of veterans.  In addition, there is a large brick plaza with several benches and a hedgerow. The plaza is showing its age and was scheduled for rehabilitation by the town parks and recreation department.   The overgrown hedges were to be removed and “something” done to upgrade the area.

The addition of a veterans memorial on the site would not only enhance the site and cemetery, but help offset the cost for repair and upgrades.

Other towns have added one or more veterans memorials to their cemetery.  Most include a large flagpole and an impressive monument.

One reporter explained it this way:

  • Acton Veterans Memorial, Acton, IN

    Acton Veterans Memorial, Acton, IN

    Cliff “Cookie” Kight is just a normal guy. He runs a body shop in Acton, Indiana — a tiny, tiny town in the far reaches of the Indianapolis’ suburbs.  Has since 1976.  He never served in uniform, but serves on the local civic league, pays his taxes, loves his family.

    What’s so special about Cookie?

    He’s one of those guys who doesn’t forget, and he won’t let others forget, either.

    He’s the ramrod for the Veteran Memorial at the Acton Cemetery.  Never heard of it?  Doesn’t matter.  The families of the veterans interred in that cemetery know about it. – Myservicepride.com, Jul 21, 2013

    Visit  the Acton Veterans Memorial

Here are a few other examples:

Iowa Cemetery

Elmwood-St Joseph Cemetery, IA

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Oakland Cemetery, Fairfield CT - Dedicated May 2014

Oakland Cemetery, Fairfield CT – Dedicated May 2014

 

 

The Little Town With a Huge Heart

We have often asked ourselves questions on fundraising.  We had to ask ourselves, “Can a town the size of Chapel Hill support and fund the construction of a Chapel Hill Veterans Memorial?”  We believe it can.

We have watched other veterans memorials in our area grow from an idea to dedication.  You will find their stories on this website under Other Memorials.

Staceyville memorial stoneOne town in Stacyville, Iowa, has an amazing story.  It is a town of less than 500 people that came together to raise $70,000 to “revamp its park and build a memorial for their veterans.”  Their park needed improvement, much like our Chapel Hill Memorial Cemetery does now.

It was Stacyville’s first veterans memorial!

Their memorial is on a small footprint, much like our site.  They thought about a marble plaque at the front with bricks etched with the names of past and present veterans.  Town folk were asked to consider a brick.  The plan was for just 50 bricks with 50 names to fund the memorial.  They sold more than 450 bricks!  They sold 466 bricks and their total population is 468.  Read “the rest of the story…”

Yes, we are confident that our fundraising will far exceed our expectations and initial goal.  We are only limited by the generosity of our citizens.

More on the Stacyville Veterans Memorial

Memorial Website Growing

DSCN3698We are working on our website to make it easier to locate, navigate, and to learn more about what we are doing to make it a reality.

We have also obtained two new domain names to augment our original site name.

Look for us by easy to remember name–Chapel Hill Veterans Memorial.  We can be found as a .com and as .org.  Please visit us often, share our story with family and friends.  Above all, let everyone you know that you support a Veterans Memorial at Chapel Hill.

You can find us at: